Aliens vs. Predator UK Review

Action cinema's greatest icons return to games, and this time it's war.

Pulse rifles, xenomorphs and shimmering stealth cloaks; all things that have long passed into gaming cliché since their debut on the silver screen, but in Aliens vs. Predator - the first-person shooter that sees Rebellion return to the universe it helped establish over fifteen years ago – the Oxford developer is given free rein to present these toys as God (or as it is in this case, James Cameron) intended. The result is a pitch perfect tribute to action cinema's greatest icons, wrapped up in a game that's equal parts horror, shooter and stealth-'em-up.

Colonial Marines, Aliens and Predators clash in what's fast becoming a regular get-together, though rest assured that Rebellion handles the franchises with more care than the two most recent films. They collide in a story that's little more than an excuse to magpie the original film's stand out moments, taking place on a planet that seamlessly weaves elements from the second and third Alien films and the first Predator. No opportunity to crowbar in a knowable quote is passed by, and Aliens vs. Predator is all the better for the extended fan service; it plays out like a best-of reel, with Lance Henriksen anchoring the whole show with a knowingly hammy reprisal of his role as Bishop.

The three species' tales interlace, though they're each playable as standalone games. The set-up makes for three vastly different experiences, offering up unique perspectives on the same game world and often giving a different take on the same pivotal moment in the story. Most players will have favourites and it's clear that Rebellion does too – the Colonial Marine has the most polished of all three campaigns and it's in some ways understandable as this is where most fans of the franchises will head first.

Here Aliens vs. Predator is at its most traditional, though for both better and worse it still strays from the standard shooter template. The Colonial Marine's opening moments are full of the suspense normally associated with survival horrors, and to its credit Rebellion succeeds where most others fail in providing some genuine scares.

Their effectiveness is helped by an excellent use of light and dark, and for all the dazzling weaponry it's the flares that prove the most useful tool initially. No doubt the fact that the boogie man in this instance is one of the most frightful creations to have graced science fiction helps – defang H.R Giger's phalocentric follies and give them party hats and they'd still out-scare other movie monsters – but Aliens vs. Predator wins out by adhering to the age old horror rule of keeping the threat out of the frame for as long as possible.

That motion tracker certainly plays its part too, it's insistent blip creating the perfect soundtrack to some wonderfully tense moments. When the time finally comes to pull the trigger, however, Aliens vs. Predator reveals itself to be solid if unspectacular in this department, the basic shooting missing out on many of the advancements made in the genre in the past few years.

A lack of iron-sights or crouch mode, the inclusion of boss battles across all three campaigns and a frame-rate that's not as generous as most other games give Alien vs. Predator a distinctively old school flavour. Conversely this does work in the game's favour – combine the vintage mechanics with the iconic arsenal and you've got a game that's full of rollicking action, the unabashed nature of which captures perfectly the spirit of the films that it's inspired by.

That iconic arsenal also helps elevate it well beyond the mundane. The most important aspect of any take on Aliens is intact, and the Pulse Rifle is more beautifully realised than ever before, that distinctively violent ripple sound never failing to inspire a smile. It's joined by other favourites such as the flamethrower and a smart gun that's suitably powerful, as well as first-person staples such as a pistol, shotgun and scoped rifle.

And while the campaign does its best to make players feel like the gung-ho goons of James Cameron's 1986 spectacular, it's in Survivor Mode that the Colonial Marines really shine. Playable online with up to three team mates or offline solo, this is a distillation of the very best that Aliens vs. Predator has to offer, throwing wave upon wave of Aliens at the player and steadily upping the tempo and lowering the odds of making it through alive. It's basic but brilliant.

The Alien and Predator feel like two sides of the same coin, offering their own distinct takes on stealth. For the Predator, it's a stealth that's powered by gadgetry: the famous cloak is bolstered by a variety of vision modes to stalk down prey from the heights he's able to reach, and when it comes to the kill he's not under-equipped either.